Killing Intent
by demonicnargles
Summary: Kyuubi was said to have been so powerful and malevolent that its presence could be felt from miles away, with a killing intent so strong it could freeze elite ninja in their tracks. What if Naruto received some of this as Kyuubi's host? One-shot


Killing Intent

Kyuubi was said to have been so powerful and malevolent that its presence could be felt from miles away, with a killing intent so strong it could freeze elite ninja in their tracks. What if Naruto received some of this as Kyuubi's host?

* * *

Kakashi remembered the very first time he felt it. The Kyuubi was attacking Konoha, effortlessly destroying entire city blocks as it lashed out at the ninja surrounding it. Kakashi had been too afraid to move, even though he was over a mile away. So powerful and frightening was the demon's presence that Kakashi, even after years of experience, found himself frozen in terror.

And he had heard the stories, that even those who were able to overcome the demon's malevolent aura could not withstand the Kyuubi's direct gaze. With a killing intent so vast, backed by decades of slaughter and destruction, even the most brave and fearless of ninja found themselves paralyzed with helpless horror when under the gaze of the most fearsome of the tailed beasts.

Only the legendary Fourth Hokage could meet his gaze, it was said. And that was supposed to have been another reason why only the young blonde leader could defeat the worst enemy Konoha had ever faced in living memory.

And so it was with nervous fear the Kakashi realized that he felt the faint echo of this aura, radiating from Naruto as the young blonde faced down the so-called 'Demon Brothers'. It wasn't nearly the power that Kakashi had felt over a decade before, but it was unmistakable the same feeling.

Kakashi watched carefully as his students reacted (or not, in Sakura's case) to his apparent 'death'. Naruto, as always, leapt into action, while Sasuke took a moment to gauge his opponent.

It was at the moment that Naruto recognized the threat, that this aura had begun to leak out. Kakashi observed carefully, but detected no other trace of the Kyuubi's presence or influence. The Demon Brother that Naruto fought did not seem very affected, either, though Kakashi thought he sensed a vague unease in the ninja's movements. Every few steps, he would shiver slightly, as though unnerved, and his attacks seemed ever-so-slightly less accurate than his skill would indicate.

A few more moments observation revealed to Kakashi the reason for both conditions. The enemy shivered, when he met Naruto's gaze, and his accuracy was reduced because he was averting his eyes.

Another several seconds and the fight was wrapped up, with Sasuke finishing off his opponent and then coming to help Naruto.

Kakashi decided not to say anything to Naruto, just yet.

* * *

Again, while in Zabuza's watery prison, Kakashi detected the faint aura of malevolence coming from Naruto. He also noticed that Zabuza paid more attention to Naruto than to Sasuke, even though the Uchiha was obviously the more skilled of the two.

But again, nothing came of it, so Kakashi thought little more about it.

* * *

It was not until sometime on the bridge that Kakashi realized there might be more to it. He had left the genin to deal with Zabuza's apprentice, while he dealt with Zabuza himself. Once again, he felt the faint presence, but nothing more.

It was not until later in the fight that something changed. In a moment, the aura grew exponentially more powerful, such that Kakashi (and Zabuza, he saw out of the corner of his eye) jerked his head around to look.

And there was Naruto, wreathed in orange energy, staring down Haku. Naruto kept his gaze locked onto the enemy ninja as he slowly advanced, his fist clenched so tightly that his entire arm shook. And Haku moved not at all, seemingly held in place by the intensity of his gaze. And he still stood there, unmoving, as Naruto drew back his arm, and then punched Haku's masked face with all his might.

Snapping out of his stupor, Kakashi realized that he had been standing still, chidori still in his hand draining his chakra. Kakashi dashed forward toward the injured Zabuza, only to be intercepted by Haku.

It was then that Gato's forces had arrived, and the situation resolved itself. Naruto calmed down, and the aura died off, and everything went back to normal.

Kakashi made sure to give a report on everything to the Hokage, but the old man seemed unphased. Perhaps this had been expected all along? Considering his part in the matter done, Kakashi didn't think much about it again.

* * *

Sakura had, of course, noticed Naruto's performance that day on the bridge, but she hadn't thought much of it at the time. It was just another weird part of a weird kid, and she had been more concerned about Sasuke at the time.

But the second time, in the Forest of Death, she had definitely noticed. That strange, lone Grass ninja had stopped them in their tracks with his gaze alone. Striking such a frightening pose that she froze in fear and awe. Naruto had seemed completely unaffected, and continued spewing childish taunts and insults while she and Sasuke stood stock-still.

In itself, that would not have meant much to her, but it was later in the fight, when Naruto had been using that scary orange energy again, that she witnessed the scene that was forever burned into her memory.

The Grass ninja had said something, she didn't remember what, but it was some kind of threat against them all. And Naruto had given the ninja this _look_, and somehow, without seeming to move, subtly shifted into some kind of frightening pose. Sakura remembered being scared, herself, of Naruto right now. And most of all, she remembered seeing, for just a moment, the enemy ninja's open-mouthed terror as he flinched in fear.

Whoever he was, he had quickly overcome his terror, and the fight had resumed. But forever afterward, Sakura remembered that image of the enemy ninja flinching in fear under Naruto's terrifying gaze.

* * *

Lee remembered it clearly. Lee was going to stay behind to fight the strange, pale man while Naruto went ahead. But as Naruto began to dash past, the enemy ninja turned, obviously preparing to attack.

Lee was going to shout a warning, but before he could, Naruto's head snapped back, his face contorted into a terrifying expression. A seething, unnatural terror arose in Lee, as though Naruto's eyes were portals into the deepest pits of hell. He could see it also affected the strange ninja, who openly flinched and dropped his gaze.

And then, just as suddenly, Naruto faced forward and continued running ahead, and the terror was gone. And the strange ninja turned to completely face Lee, completely ignoring the ninja sprinting off to thwart his mission.

* * *

Sai didn't know what to think about it. He had been trained from an early age to feel no fear, and so he had nothing with which to compare it, but he was pretty sure it was fear.

Naruto had been fighting that Akatsuki guy, Kakazu, after relieving team 10. He had been doing fairly well, and Sai had felt his heart race in anticipation from seeing such powerful ninja fighting it out.

And then Naruto had stopped and glared at Kakazu. And then, this feeling. Like suffocating, like shrinking, like standing knee-high to a giant, like being held helpless at the hands of a the enemy. But worse than that, Sai was sure. And he was also sure that whatever he felt, Kakazu felt worse.

He knew this, because Kakazu froze in place, trembling, his eyes wide. He stayed there, petrified in apparent terror, until he felt the first sting from the Rasenshuriken coming up behind him, and then it was too late.

* * *

The Sound ninja knew that anticipation of fear was worse than the actual fear itself. But he also knew that he had no chance against Konoha's jinkuurichi, so, fear or not, he was getting out of here.

In the years after Orochimaru's disappearance, Sound village had slowly degraded into an outpost for missing-nin and wanna-be's. It worked fine, until someone wearing a Sound headband was caught attacking someone important in Konoha.

No one knew who it was, but apparently Konoha's Hokage thought the attack meant that Sound deserved his personal attention. He had been sighted at the gates, and that meant it was time to evacuate. Even from here, hundreds of yards away, he could feel the aura of terror that radiated from the Legendary Sixth Hokage.

A soft _thud_ and a sharp increase in the aura to his left drew his attention, and he whirled around to face-

Terror. Unbridled horror, like watching yourself die a thousand times in your mind's eye. Inescapable horror, as your muscles locked up and your mind shut down and your body trembled and quivered in helpless anticipation...

* * *

End. I don't think this was that great, but I think the idea of Killing Intent is interesting. To have some sort of ability to terrorize people with a gaze or just your presence seems strong enough that it would come up more often in fanfiction (and canon). Other than Orochimaru's appearance in the Forest, I can't think of a time when it was used/experienced and did anything more than just make people aware that the person is serious. I think it could be a lot more than a measure of how angry or serious someone is, I'm just not sure how to translate that into the text very well.

Anyway did you like it? Hate it? Stumble across it by accident? What do you think?

-demonicnargles


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